


Darcy Lewis, Peacemaker

by BlazingJaya



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Darcy is pissed off, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sokovia Accords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-18 17:21:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8169818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlazingJaya/pseuds/BlazingJaya
Summary: Darcy gets back from a trip to Asgard to a chain of texts from Natasha that leave her furious with Tony, worried about Steve and super pissed off with General Ross. She knows the value of family and she's damned if one meddling General, the unfortunate intervention of HYDRA and a trashed airport are going to break up her family.





	1. The Aftermath- or Darcy finds out what Tony did and she is pissed

Darcy stormed across the lobby of Avengers Tower scattering various Stark Tech staff and gawping bystanders in her wake. Stomping over to the bank of elevators she marched into the first available elevator, glaring fiercely at a gaggle of interns who were considering trying to get into the lift with her. As the doors slid shut, Darcy’s shoulders slumped and she stared upwards ‘Hey, F.R.I.D.A Y’ she sighed. ‘Good afternoon Miss Lewis. Shall I take you to the common floor? I’ll notify Mr Stark that you’ve arrived’

Darcy sighed again, and then squared her shoulders. The text she’d had from Nat suggested that shit had gone so far South it was ridiculous and the Avengers clearly needed a damn good talking to. And a therapist. But Tony wouldn’t talk to anyone from SHIELD, Cap wouldn’t talk to anyone at all, and Nat was tighter closed than a colony of clams. Which, given Sam was wherever Cap was, left Darcy. 

The elevator doors slid open revealing a weary looking Stark ‘Lewis! My favourite girl. How are you daughter of my heart? F.R.I.D.A.Y did we run those DNA tests?’  
Darcy, stepped out of the elevator, folded her arms and glared at Tony ‘Don’t you daughter of my heart me, Anthony Stark? What in the name of the nine fucking realms do you think you’re up to? And why the fuck are you agreeing with Ross? You do remember that he’s the reason Bruce is terrified to be here, to be home?"

Tony stepped backwards, visibly shaken by the launch of anger from one of his favourite people. He and Darcy normally had a deeply amicable relationship. Sure they snarked backwards and forwards at each other, but aside from Pepper, Darcy was one of the few people who could get Tony out of the lab, eating a nutritious meal and not face first in the nearest bottle of whiskey. For her to yell at him, was so out of character he was lost for words. His stutter didn’t deter Darcy though. She stepped forward, dumping her holdall as she did, shrugging out of her jacket, hands waving everywhere to punctuate her speech.

“I mean, seriously, I leave you guys alone for TWO WEEKS, two weeks Tony, to go and visit Asgard and do a little Midgard-Asgard diplomacy and what do you do? Destroy the Avengers, almost kill Steve, cause an International Disaster, get the Avengers under the control of a fucking megalomaniac- don’t you dare interrupt me Anthony Stark until I finish talking so help you Thor- and then, not only that but you get Sam, Clint and Wanda thrown in a fricking underwater prison- and yes Tony, I do know about that. What in the holy fuck do you have to say for yourself?”

As Tony opened his mouth to speak the elevator doors slid open and Rhodey wheeled himself out. “Good to see you Darcy” he said, then taking stock of the situation and the astonished look on Tony’s face “Nat called you huh?”

Tony exploded “You knew about this? What the fuck Rhodey? Why am I getting ganged up on for this?”

“Tony, did you ever once consider that I have a Masters degree in Political Science, and this is exactly the sort of thing you should have asked me to help you with? I mean I know everyone thinks I’m, a joke because all they see is boobs and me wrangling Jane, but there’s a reason Pepper got me involved with setting up all the paperwork for the Avengers Initiative. You should have yelled- Heimdall would have seen and sent me down and I would have been able to stop this whole clusterfuck from happening”

Moving into the lounge area of the common room, Darcy threw herself on the sofa. “You should have asked for my help Tony. Now come and tell me what happened so I can help you fix this” That had Tony wheeling for the bar. “No-one can fix this Darce. Why are you even going to try? The Avengers are dead, Rhodey’s a cripple and my best friend, has disappeared off with his psycho assassin boyfriend, who let’s remember shall we KILLED MY PARENTS”. He slammed his fist down on the marble countertop, wincing at the impact.

Darcy moved over to the bar, swung herself up onto the countertop and gave Tony a hug. “This isn’t broken Tony. This is a family scuffle. And I’m going to help you fix it” Tony leant into her embrace. He’d always had a soft spot for the snarky little intern. She was constantly underestimated, but he saw through the lipstick and ditz act to the shrewd mind beneath, Darcy was smart- Tony Stark smart and while she wasn’t a genius inventor, she did have a better grasp on the socio-political situation than most Senators. “Tony” she called as he turned to head for his lab “You either work with me, or I'm calling Pepper in. Your choice. But either way, we’re fixing this”


	2. Chapter 2- Double, double toil and trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy investigates the Accords, Tony has a hangover and Rhodey and Vision lay their cards on the table.

Tony slowly woke, groaning from his pounding head. Carefully opening his eyes, he winced at the bright lights of the lab and immediately shut them again. Head spinning and stomach churning he tried to move into a more comfortable position, as it became evident that he’d spent the night asleep on the lab bench. Eventually, he pulled himself over to the couch and collapsed in an undignified heap. Within minutes he was asleep again, snores reverberating through the lab. He’d deal with the reasons behind his epic bender later.

After Tony had disappeared off to the lab to drink himself stupid, Darcy dumped her stuff in her rooms, changed into her favourite pair of pyjamas and then settled herself down in the common area with a copy of the Accords, her laptop, highlighters and a lot of sticky page tabs. Halfway through, she’d gotten up and made herself a strong coffee. Just as she was sitting back down again, Vision wafted through the walls. One spilled coffee and a lot of swearing later, Darcy settled back down coolly regarding Vision. “I offer my assistance Miss Lewis if you wish to understand the accords”

“Vis, you have to know I want to get these overturned. These are nothing more than a set of fear driven directives, which when you unpick them actually provide Ross a chance to get the Avengers under his control. And moreover Tony signed them because he’s guilt ridden over Sokovia and Ultron. Not once did he consider Ross’s motives for bringing the Accords into play. And before you tell me that the UN came up with this crock of shite, I have a buddy who works in Ross’s office, and the Accords were written by him” Vision held up one hand to gently pause Darcy in her flow “I am inclined to agree with you, Miss Lewis. Whilst I agreed to the Accords initially, I have since then done a more in-depth investigation into the character of General Ross, and the creation of the Accords. I still maintain that there should be some level of oversight of the Avengers initiative. However, I no longer feel that the Accords are the way to manage it. And any initiative penned by Ross is likely to have the ultimate aim of bringing enhanced beings under his control”

Darcy raised an eyebrow. “Nice to see you’ve changed your mind Vis, though a little too late I fear. I want these Accords overturned Ross is Secretary of State. He might have a muddy past, but there’s not a lot we can do about that- he’s been in a position of power for too long. And like it or not the Accords have been ratified. I have no idea how we can get them overturned. I mean, really, what should have happened is that they were drawn up and then there should have been a debate with a considerable thinking period. I can’t work out how these got pushed through the UN so quickly. That’s not how the legislature works!” Vision stood up and began to pace, one finger tapping on his bottom lip “I’ve devoted considerable time to considering this. I believe that if we could persuade King T’Challa to publicly revoke his support of the Accords, along with utilizing the influence that Ms. Potts has within the Capitol, we may well be able to change public opinion for the Accords. Additionally, if we orchestrated the publication of damning articles calling into question Ross’s integrity- perhaps by offering an interview with Dr. Banner, then we could weaken his position. I don’t know how we can get the Accords overruled per-se, but perhaps we could begin a process of eliminating faith in them”

Darcy tapped a highlighter against her lips, clearly thinking over Vision’s plans. “I think you’ve got the grounds of a good plan there Vis. Pretty sure that Pep will be on board. I can see if Thor will go visit T’Challa- maybe a royalty to royalty chat will work? And Thor has always liked Steve. He understands why Steve wants to support Barnes. We need Tony on board, though. As much as he can be a royal ass, the Stark name still carries a lot of weight and his opinion is likely to be the nail in the coffin of the Accords. Also, we need to get the story of really happened in Vienna out there. And we need a viable system of accountability- enhanced beings *shouldn’t* be able to operate without oversight, but that oversight shouldn’t rest in the hands of a single organization. Not given how fallible they all are……...”

“Puzzling it over are we Darce?” Rhodey wheeled himself around the corner of the breakfast bar. He looked tired and clearly pained. Darcey stood wordlessly and grabbed the coffee pot, pouring him a cup and returning to the table she’d strewn her stuff over. Rhodey gratefully accepted the cup of coffee, knocking back some pills with the first mouthful. He looked up at Darcy whose concern was writ clear across her face “Darce you’ve always been a shit poker player. Stop looking so worried. I’m on board”. When her face changed from concern to surprise, Rhodey chuckled “You don’t think I had the career I had by being politically stupid do you? I’ve done my own digging on Ross and called in a few favors. That guy is dirtier than Tony’s mind, and twice as slippy. You’re gonna need a good game plan to take him down”

“I wasn’t aware you had changed your mind on the Accords, Colonel ,” said Vision evenly “May I ask what led to your new position?” Rhodey sighed, sipping his coffee “I’ve done a lot of thinking Vision. We can’t protect the earth if we’re separated as a team. The Accords also make enhanced humans feel as if they’re some sort of dangerous beast that needs careful guarding. And like it or not Captain America is a large part of the way we function. We had a well-disciplined team in place. I mean, I still maintain that there must be some form of oversight- we can’t act without the agreement of sovereign nations, and there needs to be recourse for anyone caught in the crossfire of an Avengers incident, but I looked through the Accords more closely. There are loopholes in there which could shut us down or imprison us if Ross says so. That’s not oversight, that’s one man exerting control over enhanced beings having proven that he shouldn’t be overseeing anything. Man’s worse than Stryker”

“Well this will be easier than I thought, ” said Darcy. “I know Thor’s on board with ending the Accords, Banner will be when I can get hold of him, Nat’s seeing the ramifications are pretty shitty… now all we need to do is draft a credible alternative that doesn’t inhibit the freedoms of enhanced beings, or trample over sovereign states without their agreement or request, get hold of Cap and the others to bring them on board, find D. Banner, bring down Ross and, persuade Tony”

A scuffling noise drew the trio’s attention- a hungover and seriously pissed off Tony Stark was leaning on the breakfast bar.

“Persuade Tony what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your lovely and encouraging comments. I hope Chapter 2 lives up to expectations! Sorry for it being a bit of a bridging chapter with no real action!


	3. Chapter Three- Black Holes and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Darcy apologises, Tony see's reason and a plan starts to form

Tony didn't think he could ever recall seeing Darcy look ashamed. He'd seen her stare down Nick Fury, The Black Widow and Pepper, and force Hawkeye to give her drunken piggybacks. He'd seen her once attempt to argue logic with Vision (Vis gave up after three hours, Darcy declared it a success, and demanded everyone refer to her as Darcy Lewis, Girl Genius for three days afterward). Darcy was normally bubblier than Dom Perignon, but this morning she was ashamed, and that was enough to stop him in his tracks. 

"Wheels, Brains, skedaddle. Darcy and I have got some Substitute Daughter/Father bonding to do. FYI, that may involve yelling. Quiet yelling. And some one bring me an Advil"

Waiting for Darcy to nod assent, RHodey and Vision left the kitchen. Vision suggesting that he assist the injured Rhodes with his daily physio. Darcy slid a couple of pills across the table to Tony "Bruce's special formula. Figured you'd need them today". She passed Tony a glass of water and a mug of coffee, refilling the machine, and setting the second pot to make. 

"I" she started and trailed off, looking at her hands miserably. "I'm sorry Tony. I was a grade A jerk last night. I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I should have called. I know you're getting a hard time right now" 

"It's alright kid" 

Scrubbing his hands through his hair, Tony sighed and then picked up Darcy's hand. "You know what I've always liked about you? You don't care that I'm Tony Stark, and you don't care that I'm Iron Man. You treat Pepper like a regular person and not a Fortune 500 CEO. You don't let Steve get depressed. You even make Fury laugh and that man does not know how to smile. You keep Jane Foster from Science-ing to hard and destroying the universe. Gives you an occasional pass to yell at me. One day we're doing that DNA test, though." 

Darcy chuckled quietly scooting closer to Tony and pulling him into an awkward one armed hug. "You want some breakfast? I made up a batch of pancake batter before I went to bed last night and there's some brioche rolls proving. You can talk me through how you think we fix this mess while I cook"

"Make with the cooking kid. These your notes?" He nodded towards the pile of sheets with Darcy;s neat script covering it next to her coffee cup. She nodded and moving away from him, started pulling out dishes and efficiently getting breakfast on the go. 

"Yup. Ross is one mean son of a bitch. Thorough too. Although there are holes there, and I think if we spin a decent PR campaign we can get the Accords replaced. We'll need to look at creating some sort of fund to pay out restitution for people caught in the crossfire of Avengers attended incidents- maybe that could be something the UN could administrate. I don't know how you determine what should involve the Avengers, though. The points about Sovereign Nations are valid ones, and there's a couple of other things I'm chewing on" She looked up. Tony was sat in his chair looking at her almost proudly.

"OK, Kid. I trust you, you don't have an agenda that doesn't have everyone's interests at heart, and you're right. I should have spoken to you. Or at least not run off at the mouth. I don't think we'll be able to get everyone back on board. And I won't play nice with the Winter Soldier. That guy killed my parents- assassinated them- my Dad may have been a dick, but my Mom wasn't and neither of them deserved that". He stopped. Darcy paused whisking the pancake batter, pulled the pan off the flame, and pulled Tony into a fierce hug.

"Tony. You need therapy. We all need it. The stuff we deal with, even me and Jane on the edges, the decisions you, the rest of the team have to make? Those are combat decisions. None of you chose to be soldiers, but now you're on the battlefront of protecting the Earth. You need some guys who specialize in PTSD up in here, and everyone having to talk their shit out. You know I love you?"

"What are you about to say? I won't like it will I?"

"You don't have to like Bucky" She grabbed his hands and stared at him fiercely "His name is Bucky and he **is** a person- especially to Steve. But consider this- the guy was captured by Hydra, tortured in a thousand awful and horrible ways, underwent hours and hours of torture- Nat has the files and she filled me in on the highlights reel. And after all of that- one look, one good look at Steve and the guy breaks that conditioning and starts trying to work out who he is. His hand may have held the gun but James Buchanan Barnes is not the man who killed your parents. That was Hydra. And, deep in your heart, you know that, and that is why you are all bent out of shape. And no one- least of all Steve or Bucky himself from what Nat says are going to hold that against you. I'm sorry. I don't want to fight you on him, but, it just seems that everyone is busy taking up a position around this guy and no one is considering what the last 70 years have been like for him. And if we can have one Ex-Russian KGB Assassin on our team, surely we can add one, who wasn't even theirs, to begin with"

"Kid, I hate it when you chuck reason, at my perfectly good bruised feelings. And I want to fight you, but my head is killing me for some reason. And I need Bacon. And some of your pancakes. And Pepper. And I guess I better call Steve. He sent a burner so I could call if I needed. Did you make a to-do list? You did, didn't you?"

Darcy laughed at him- making Tony smile and then wince, grabbing his head. 

"Coffee," she said sliding another cup over to him." To-do lists- one for you, one for Vision, one for Rhodey. I've already emailed Nat hers. I need her to do some undercover digging. Rhodey needs to hit up his military contacts, Vision needs to work with FRIDAY and start grabbing us all the information he can on Ross and any close associates of his. You, I need you to get Clint, Wanda, Scott and Sam out of the underwater jail and then apologize to them. And Laura. Because she *will* kick your butt when she gets hands on you. And lend me a couple of Pepper's legal bods. Oh- Tony if you want me to make you some of my super duper cookies to go with your 2 am coffee? You'll get those combat trained psychologists hired. We need them. It's time we made The Avengers a legitimate organization, not a hobby or an arm of the US Intelligence. And I think we need Sharon Carter. And Phil."

"His name is Agent"

Darcy glared. Which would seem fierce if she weren't half a foot shorter, wearing My Little Pony Pyjama's and holding a coffee mug proclaiming that her penchant for knitting only existed to prevent murder. 

"Ok, You rally the troops. I'll get the guys sprung. And you can have the legal bods. Well. I'll get Vision to call Pepper to get the legal bods. She's not exactly talking to me right now, and she likes Vision"

Darcy nodded. It was time to cook and make plans. The game was on. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long break- I've been adjusting to using a wheelchair and getting sick a lot!


	4. Chapter 4: Time to Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve arrives at the Tower. There's emotional Tony, Darcy being a badass, and the promise of fun to come. No one should ever fuck with people Darce considers family really.

Steve made his way from the landing pad on top of Avengers Tower into the elevator. Shrugging off his jacket, he looked up as FRIDAY chirped “Good evening Captain Rogers. Mr Stark is in his lab- I’ve notified him of your arrival and he’ll meet you on the common floor” “Thanks FRIDAY. Who else is at home at the moment?” “Colonel Rhodes, Vision, and Miss Lewis are currently in the tower. Miss Potts is in Washington DC. I am unsure of the whereabouts of Agent Romanoff. Mr Stark said I should also notify you that Agent Coulson and his team will be arriving in the morning to assist with Operation Sock It To The Man”

“FRIDAY was that Tony’s idea or Darcy’s?” “It was Mr Stark Captain. Miss Lewis was outvoted for once” Steve chuckled. The elevator hit the common floor, and squaring his shoulders Steve stepped out. As he exited he looked at the common floor and was hit with an intense wave of sadness. He was home. Avengers Tower had become home, since the fall of SHIELD and the destruction of his DC apartment. And really he’d never been at ease in DC- he was a New York boy, a Brooklyn boy at heart. Anywhere else just felt wrong. Seeing the familiar New York skyline, some of the tension his chest eased. Looking over he saw Darcy. She’d fallen asleep at the table, surrounded by books, and notepads. Head over her laptop keyboard, glasses knocked askew, she muttered in her sleep shifting slightly. He’d been half in love with Darcy before Bucky came back to him, - the single kiss he shared with Sharon had shown him that while he was fond of Sharon- she reminded him so much of Peggy- she didn’t grab him with the same fascination that the mouthy, free spirited Darcy did. Sharon might understand more of his work, but Darcy was innocent in a way Sharon wasn’t. 

Darcy spoke her mind, fought fiercely for her loved ones and had no compunction about protecting herself. This was the girl Thor called his Lightning Sister, who was so unafraid she’d tased the demi-god. The noise of a door closing pulled Steve from his musings- Tony walked in. Before the irrepressible Stark could speak, Steve laid a finger on his lips nodding at the sleeping Darcy. Moving over to her, Steve lifted her into his arms- a scowl crossing his face when he realised she’d lost weight since he last saw her. She muttered in her sleep again, snuggling against Steve’s chest. He and Darcy were close friends- she’d made it her job to pull together the team, and that included updating Steve on what had happened after he went on ice. She taught him how to use the internet and made him spend time out in the world. He’d never declared his feelings for her, but she’d fallen asleep on him more than once in the middle of a movie marathon. Moving over to the cough he gently laid her there, and Tony appeared at his side with a blanket. Stepping back Steve watched Tony carefully tuck in Darcy, smoothing her hair from her face and taking her glasses off. Steve was suddenly struck by the similarities in their faces- the same chin and cheekbones as well as colouring but he shook the thought off. That could wait.

 The two men headed over to the table- Steve shook his head when Tony waved a bottle of scotch in his direction. Grabbing a glass Tony sat down, poured himself a decent serving and took a sip. “Sit down Capsicle before you strain something standing at attention like that” “Tony, look-“ “Shut up Cap. Sit down. Darcy says I owe you an apology and she’s right. But I’m not saying that. I…….” Tony looked away

 “I missed you, Tony”

 “What?” Tony looked gobsmacked. “Why? “

 “We’re friends. Sure you’re an egotistical and annoying bastard, but you’re my friend. My brother in arms. It’s just…… Buck”

 “Darcy said I was jealous. Says I can’t deal with my feelings. Dr Winder agrees with her. Just….. He appears and all of a sudden you’re trying to find him and save him, and Pep leaves and…..” Tony scrubbed at his face. Steve looked concerned- he’d never seen Tony speak openly about his feelings before- Tony’s normal response was to deflect any kind of conversation that involved talking about his feelings- this openly emotional Tony was new territory and somewhat worrying. “The Winter Soldier killed my parents. I can’t excuse that. But I can just about accept that Bucky isn’t the Soldier. Darcy near enough socked me in the face. Then she made me read the damn file Nat got hold of. What Hydra did- I’m sorry. I wish I could help. I mean I kinda can. Get Barnes here and I can take a look at the arm. I saw the X-rays in the file and he must- they attached it to his ribs with metal, I mean it’s fucking barbaric”

 “T-Challa, he had his guys remove it. Buck’s gone into cryo-stasis in Wakanda until we can undo the conditioning” Steve’s voice cracked. “IF we can ever remove it. I just………… Tony Bucky is, he’s just always been there. I”

 “You love him” The two men turned to see Darcy stood there, looking adorable in her pyjamas, wiping the sleep from her eyes

 “Jesus Lewis, you’re worse than Barton. Need to stick a goddamned bell on you”

 Darcy chuckled and padded over to the table yawning. She walked to Steve and kissed his head. “Glad you’re back Cap. Where’s your delectable boyfriend?” Tony stared at her 

“Darcy they hadn’t even invented sex in 1940. Never mind Captain Blushing Virgin here having any” he shook his head trying to dispel the image in his head. Steve just laughed. 

“Tony, we did have sex in 1940 you know. We even had queers. And Buck and I” he swallowed hard as the memories flooded his mind again, Darcy cuddling him in response “We were two guys living together. In Brooklyn. You really think I was, am that heartbroken over what happened to him cos we were just buddies?” Realising what he’d just admitted Steve looked at Darcy “I’m sorry Doll. I should have mentioned it” Darcy smiled at him 

“Steve, I know. I’ve always known. And anyway Bucky is hot as fuck. I wanna see you two locking lips, cos that will just be delicious to watch.” 

“Lewis!”

 Tony swallowed the rest of his scotch “I do not need to think about that!” 

“Whatever Tony. Anyway are you two done awkwardly making up? You know I’ve booked you an all day session with Dr Winder tomorrow. Together. And Steve, I am NOT letting you out to sort this whole Accords mess out until Rosie says you’re cleared for duty” Darcy tried to look fiercely at the two Avengers, 

“Whose Dr Winder?” 

“I had to get her to stop shouting at me. So I hired a psychiatrist whose an expert in treating PTSD. She’s an ex Marine. Sam gave me her name” 

“Shit!” 

“Language Captain!”

 “Don’t worry Capsicle. The rest of our band of outlaws will be here by tomorrow afternoon. Pepper is busy knocking heads in DC. I wanted to just go and blow up the jail but Darcy called Pepper. She said she wasn’t letting me screw things up for anyone anymore.” 

Steve looked mollified. “What’s the plan then?” 

Darcy rubbed her hands in glee., “FRIDAY bring up the battle plan” A holographic screen appeared- Darcy had been using her mind mapping software again. Steve smiled- he really did love the feisty little brunette. She wasn’t just gorgeous (Steve had almost fainted the first time he’d seen her dressed up to go out. She was pin up gorgeous, and her lipstick made him want to do stuff he’d only ever done with Bucky) but she was whip smart and he’d seen her go toe to toe with just about everyone. Even Fury was putty in her hands,

 “Ok so, you and Tony are gonna sort your shit out- Tony shut up. T’Challa says he’ll be here with Bucky by dinner tomorrow- Steve stop worrying. Dr Winder has a colleague who’s worked with soldiers captured by extremeist groups and subjected to the same sort of stuff as Buck. Ya know minus the experimentation. Tony has started work on a replacement arm, Bruce is coming in too. The guys will be out of the joint tomorrow. Then EVERYONE has counselling, There WILL be group sessions and everyone says sorry. Am I clear?” She glared at the two men, daring them to interrupt her.

 “Sure Darce” said Steve, stroking the back of her hand.

“Thor should be arriving in the next couple of days. Then we wait” 

“What for? I thought you had a plan? Why are we waiting? You know I HATE waiting Darce!”

 “Tony, we wait. The reason all this happened was cos you all went off half cocked. We don’t need to act just yet. FRIDAY is keeping the tower essentially locked down and is busy scanning the net and all the comms channels to make sure no one knows we’re getting the band back together. Once y’all have been cleared by the Doc and her team, THEN we start playing. In the meantime T’Challa has his diplomats meeting with their counterparts in all the countries who signed the accords. This way we start unravelling the international support for the accords, and floating the idea of an alternative plan. This isn’t a situation where we fly in, blow some shit up and save the day. This time we are playing the long con. And I ALWAYS win when I play Risk. Pepper is slowly buttering up people in DC, and Rhodey is making calls to select defence personell who are ion a position to start hobbling Ross”

 Darcy stopped looking sweet, and Steve felt a chill when he saw how angry she was. Darcy was normally sweet as a button, but right now he could see the girl Pepper saw when she tried to recruit Darcy to Stark Industries. This wasn’t the sweet, curvy bombshell. This was Don’t Fuck With Me Darcy, the girl who’d tased Thor, and punched out Hawkeye (don’t ask, Barton still couldn’t believe she’d got the drop on him). 

“I’m going to destroy Ross. By the time I’m done, the Avengers Initiative will be a global peacekeeping and defence humanitarian iniative, you lot will all have sorted out your goddamn psychological issues and Ross will be fucking destroyed. He’s going down” 

“Is that really necessary, Darcy? “ 

“Steve, if you were friends with Betty Ross you’d understand. Ross is a scumbag. Anyway. I’m going to fucking bed. Walk me to my apartment?” 

Steve nodded, still contemplating Darcy’s plan. He had a couple of suggestions but he could see that now wasn’t the time to suggest them- they’d wait till morning. Tony waved a hand dismissively in their direction. “See you in the morning Capsicle and PseudoDaughter. “ he headed back off in the direction of his lab. 

Steve grabbed him as he passed them. Surprising both of them, he suddenly hugged Tony. “Tony- thanks. I’m, I’m glad we’re friends” Tony hesitantly returned the hug.

 “I’m outta here now before we all start singing Kumbaya.” 

As Steve carried Darcy towards the elevator (She demanded piggybacks. Something about there having to be an advantage of having a super soldier for a bestie) he heard Tony mutter quietly “I’m glad you’re back Steve” 

Tomorrow promised some hard stuff, but they were going to work it out. The Avengers existed as Earth’s Mightiest Hero’s and that meant keeping the iniative out of the hands of Facists.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote this on the train to Manchester (from the south of England where I live). I think this is the chapter I'm the most nervous about. It's a lot of dialogue. And ya know, hints of WinterShieldShock OT3-ing to come............ Maybe. Anyway please let me know if it's good or awful. As always this is un-beta'd so mistakes are entirely my fault.


	5. The Great Head Rummaging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve begin therapy

When Darcy had said that Dr Winder was a combat psychologist, ex-Marine who specialised in treating PTSD and post tour mental health for veterans, Steve had formed a mental image of what she’d look like. Which as it turned out was so far off the mark it wasn’t even funny. Dr Winder wasn’t a small stocky woman made of muscle and no-nonsense authority. She was a leggy six-foot tall blonde, wearing stilettos that cost at least a months salary, a pencil skirt and crimson lipstick.

Steve had stammered, and Tony was dumb-struck. “Call me Rosie. Sit down, gentlemen. Before we begin, I am going to lay down some ground rules. You will abide by these rules- they are designed to facilitate open communication and create a safe therapeutic space. Have you both received your therapy itineraries from Darcy?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Although therapy every day? Is that really necessary?”

“Haa Capsicle! You got more therapy than me. I only have to go three times a week!”

Rosie turned a frosty look on Tony “ First rule- everyone has their own journey. Eyes on your own trauma, and its intersections with your colleagues. We do not mock other people. Secondly- you will attend all of your sessions. You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to or can't, we can just sit quietly. You don’t have to talk about anything specific. This is a space for you to clear your head. While we will be taking a structured approach to resolving specific issues, therapy isn’t a box ticking exercise. It takes time and the journey to recovery is not linear”

She paused and took a sip of water before continuing. “What’s said in a session stays in a session. I will be reporting progress to Darcy and Agent Coulson, however, these will be non-specific and relate only to my professional evaluation of your readiness to take up Avengers duties. Everyone in the team will be having sessions and there will be a number of them focusing on resolving interpersonal issues so you can perform as an effective combat unit.

Any questions?”

Steve exchanged a quick look with Tony “No Ma’am. How do we start?”

Rosie pointed at the coffee table in front of the two men. On it was a sketchbook and drawing supplies, and a set of tools and mini robot building kits. “Grab those please gentlemen”

Tony and Steve exchanged puzzled looks but did as they were told. Steve grabbed the sketchbook and prepared to settle down “No, Captain. The sketchbook is for Mr Stark. You are to build robots”

“Ma’am I’m not an engineer, I’m an artist. I don’t understand”

“You don’t need to understand Captain. You just need to build a robot”

“ I’m with Cap here Doc- I can draw blueprints and design machines and buildings, but I’m not an artist. What gives?”

Dr Winder looked over the top of her glasses at both men “Gentlemen, you are here to learn to work together and to finally address the emotional trauma your respective combat experience has left you with. Whilst we need to build an understanding therapeutic relationship, and I encourage you to question my techniques as you need, on this occasion I am going to ask that you just do as you have been asked, My reasoning will become clear later”

Steve shrugged and grabbed the tools and robot kits. Tony looked more sceptical, but raising an eyebrow, he pulled the pad and pencils towards him and began to sketch.

As the two men set about their tasks, Dr Winder appeared to be reading files of notes, but she said very little. Fifteen minutes in Steve gave a huff of irritation and set down the circuit board he was dejectedly stabbing.

“Problem, Capsicle?”

“There’s no instructions. I can’t work out how to get this goddamn thing built. I mean, the case is fairly self-explanatory but the innards? They don’t make any sense at all”

“Lemme see that”

Steve handed the mass of circuits and wiring over to Tony, who clicked his tongue against his teeth and set to detangling the wires. Picking up Tony’s discarded sketchbook, Steve found that Tony had begun sketching out a blueprint for something- he had no idea what and after rotating the sketchbook a few times he still couldn’t work out what it was. “Neural Implants to help Rhodey walk again”

“You can do that?”

“Welp if the soviets managed to graft a fully functioning metal arm into The Winter Soldiers central nervous system in the early 70’s using quite frankly primitive tools, then I figure I can design something that will be able to take over the job of Rhodey’s severed spinal column”

“I never meant for anyone to get hurt. And I know Sam is devastated, Tony.” Steve hung his head. “I just, “

“You don’t think straight where he’s concerned. I don’t where Rhodey is. But Steve, he killed my Mom!”

Dr Winder looked up from her notes. “Time to get to work then gentlemen. Tony, please tell Steve why you believe Sgt Barnes murdered your parents”

Tony looked at the psychologist in horror “What do you mean ‘why I believe’? Steve KNEW! It was in the goddamn SHEILD files.”

“If I understand correctly, the Winter Soldier, a Soviet Assassin, murdered your parents. In December 1991. “

Tony looked at her as if she was insane “Why are you repeating everything I’m saying? I literally just said that?!” He threw the circuit board at the table angrily “Why does no-one take it seriously that my parents were murdered by some fucking crackpot assassin, and I’m the one expected to be ok with this shit? Like, what the fuck is wrong with you all?”

“Tony, I want you to think about the question I’m about to ask you very carefully before you answer. Are Sergeant Barnes and The Winter Soldier the same person?”

Tony looked at her as if she was incredibly stupid. Rosie had done enough prep to have seen that look before- it was a look that Tony routinely threw at Senators when he was called to testify in front of committees, at reporters when they jostled around him, yelling intrusive questions. The look said ‘Tony Stark thinks you are an idiot, and you should remember that he is a genius’. He opened and shut his mouth a few times, stammering. Suddenly the fight went out of him, and he weakly sagged against the sofa.

“huh”

“ I believe you may have considered my point Mr Stark. Sergeant Barnes was taken prisoner against his will, forcibly fitted with a prosthetic, brainwashed, tortured, repeatedly brutalised, forced to perform acts that were demonstrably against his morality, and that he could not actually consent too. And when they didn’t need him, they cryogenically froze him, then defrosted him, and performed electroconvulsive therapy on him, in order to keep him in an amnesiac state.

Sgt Barnes did not and could not have murdered your parents. He was a prisoner of war, horrifically tortured, and he will require his own therapy, to help him in the process of adjusting to life in the 21st century”

A soft whimper drew Tony’s attention. Next to him on the couch, Steve had his head in his hands, sobbing. Tony, threw his head back, against the couch cushions, huffing. “Goddamn it. I’m a fucking bastard. Steve, Cap, please don’t cry. I’m sorry I’m a grade a dickbag, and I fucked up again”

Steve looked over at Tony “You’re not a, a dickbag Tony. I never told you and I should have, and I betrayed our friendship and I’m the reason this whole mess happened and Rhodes is crippled because of me, and Bucky doesn’t have an arm anymore, and now we’re all terrorists, and god it’s my fault”

“Gentlemen if I may interject a moment? It is essential that you both stop holding the responsibility for recent events. Tony, is Steve to blame for the torture that Sgt Barnes underwent?”

“Of course not. That’s all on Hydra, and the Russians” replied Tony. I’m not sure I understand where you’re going with all this Doc?”

“And who is the individual that blew up the UN, killing King T’Chaka and setting in place the circumstances where half of the Avengers ended up in prison or labelled fugitives?”

“Well that was Zemo”

“And this is my point gentlemen. You have both reacted to situations set up by other people, designed to be antagonistic- both General Ross and Colonel Zemo had agenda’s where they were attempting to elicit specific outcomes”

“What’s Ross got to do with it?” said Tony, suddenly looking defensive again. “We need the goddamn Accords, I mean, just look at what happened in Lagos? We need some fucking oversight because we keep catching innocent people in the crossfire! New York, Lagos, the weird shit in London with the Dark Elves? We cannot, CANNOT continue to act without any formal jurisdiction, or structure. We’re goddamn vigilantes”

“I know. I agree with you”

“I mean you, think what…. Wait, what? You AGREE? What the fuck was the thing with the airport then?”

“We needed to get to Siberia, Buck said the Russians had the worst of the worst hidden there and we needed to deactivate them before Zemo released them. I mean, that’s what we thought he was gonna do. Tony, I’m so sorry for what happened in Siberia. It’s just. It’s Bucky. I can’t explain”

“How long have you been in love with Sargeant Barnes, Captain?”

“What?! I mean, I love him, I’m not _in love_ with him”

Rosie raised a single eyebrow at Steve. “It’s 2016 Captain. Gay men are hardly shocking in this day and age. You can even get married if you wish. Although at this point, I don’t think anyone should be making such serious decisions at this juncture. Not until you’ve all had a lot of treatment”

Sensing Steve's indecision, Tony jumped in “ Dude, seriously. It's safe.” Suddenly Tony realised what the problem was. "Steve, they can't kick you out of the army for it. I mean, not that The Avengers is the army, but your military career is safe. I promise. And anyway if they kick you out they have to kick all of us except Nat out"

Relaxing at Tony's assurances, Steve continued “We grew up in Brooklyn in the 30’s. We were really good at not letting people know. I mean, the Howlies knew, but they would never have said anything, especially not with Dum-Dum and Morita, and just- when I thought he was dead that was it. I couldn’t, didn’t know what to do without him. We’d been together since we were kids”

Tony looked at Steve, carefully. “I’m so sorry Steve. I never thought about how painful seeing The Winter Soldier must have been for you. And The Accords- the manhunt for him and stuff. Jesus”

Rosie looked at her watch, and carefully placed her notes on the table. The men in front of her were both injured people, severely traumatised by combat, loss, and betrayal. They needed time, support, a LOT of therapy, and to feel that they were contributing positively to the world around them. This looked like the beginning of that.

“Gentlemen, we should draw this session to a close. You should both go eat, shower and then rest. Expect that you may experience nightmares tonight. This is normal and is part of your brain processing the trauma you have experienced. I will see both of you tomorrow for an individual session, and then after that, we will have a joint session. I understand from Ms Lewis that the rest of the team will have arrived by the day after tomorrow, so we will then commence with group sessions.

In the meantime, I want you both to spend a little time considering what oversight you feel the Avengers Initiative should have, and how you could both have handled the initial discussions around the Accords a little better. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Standing she extended her hand to both, shaking their hands in turn, before gracefully walking away.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess then Cap?”

“Sir, King T’Challa of Wakanda is requesting permission to land on the Helipad” interjected FRIDAY

“Let ‘em land, tell them we’ll be up there shortly”

Sharing a look, the men headed up to the helipad to welcome the new arrivals. It seemed clear that while the recovery process was beginning, it would not be quick and along the way, a lot of pain would need to be revisited. Still, reflected Tony internally, if it meant that the Avengers would be able to effectively protect the Earth, with proper oversight that wasn’t politically motivated; if he could have his team, his family back the pain would be worth it. Casting a look at Steve he saw that the other man’s façade, his Cap Face had finally dropped- and for the first time since they met, Tony could finally see Steve Rogers and not Captain America. In that moment, Tony understood that Bucky Barnes was for Steve, everything that Pepper and Rhodey were to him, that this was Steve’s forever love. So in that moment, Tony privately vowed that he would do everything possible to give Steve and Bucky a happy ever after, and to make the Avengers the best team they could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many many thanks to Alexadria who spotted my accidental author gaffe! Hopefully I've fixed it now :)


	6. Chapter 6: Reunited and it feels so good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the team arrives, a peace is reached, and Darcy starts to believe that they might just pull this off after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay everyone, I've been ill enough to be confined to bed since mid-June, and had to have surgery at the beginning of September, with more to follow. I'm well enough for now though, so please enjoy the latest chapter and I'll try and have the next one out a bit quicker!

Tony and Steve stepped out onto the Helipad together- Tony because he wanted to make sure T-Challa knew who was king in the tower, and Steve because Bucky was finally back. Settled on the pad was an aircraft with a design Steve didn't recognise. He looked at Tony, who was suddenly excited "Wakanda is THE most technologically advanced country in the world Cap- I don't even recognise the technology they've used to create that vehicle"

"Nor would you," T'challa said as he stepped down from the craft "It's a new design of my sisters, we wanted to tests its long-distance capabilities. It's proprietary technology, but I would be interested in discussing a possible joint venture between my people and Stark Enterprises. Your work on clean energy is revolutionary, and I think if we pool our resources we could lead a change in mass transportation propulsion that the world is in desperate need of" T-Challa offered his hand to Tony "It's good to see you again Mr Stark. I'm glad to be of service to The Avengers"

"Call me Tony, your majesty. Mr Stark was my father and he's been dead a long time now" T-Challa nodded graciously "I insist then Tony, that you call me T'challa. When we meet in relation to the Avengers, we are peers".

Tony nodded absent-mindedly, distracted as a dark-haired man stepped down from the craft. Bucky paused as he caught sight of Tony's face, hesitantly taking a step backwards, as Tony stepped forwards, and then held out his hand "Tony Stark. Welcome to Stark Tower Sergeant Barnes. If you need anything during your stay, please ask FRIDAY and she'll see to it. I'd appreciate if you would come down to my lab tomorrow maybe. I understand you've been having problems with the work Hydra did to install your prosthesis and I think I have a few solutions and a prototype I'd like you to take a look at. Sorry for breaking your old arm" He trailed off looking uncomfortable, as Steve stared at him with amazement and T'Challa raised an eyebrow "Nat made me read your file. You're not The Winter Soldier. You're Sergeant James Barnes, my best friend's boyfriend and the longest surviving POW in US history. I might not be very nice to you at the start of December, but yeah. You wouldn't deliberately have killed my parents"

Bucky stared at Tony evenly for a moment, before speaking, his voice sounding hoarse as if he hadn't used it for a long time "Howard was my friend. That's why they used me. Because he'd been my friend, and Pierce was a sick bastard. They did it to keep me in line- I couldn't break their programming, and I tried and I tried" he broke off, looking sick.

"I know. The files Nat pulled detailed what they did. I've sent them over to Bruce to look at. He thinks, that if we work with Dr Winder, we can probably come up with a way to strip out the programming they used- Dr Winder knows a guy who's worked with POW's before, with this sort of thing, so she's liaising with him. Expect a lot of headache's though- I think with your accelerated healing from whatever version of the serum Zola gave you, the longer you're out of cryo and not experiencing further trauma, that your brain will begin regenerating all the damaged tissue. If it's ok with you, I'd like to do a brain scan this evening and then again every 48 hours" he held up a hand as Bucky opened his mouth to refuse "I've made a scanner especially. You just need to come stand in the doorway to my lab and FRIDAY will automatically run the scan. I figured you'd need to not be enclosed in Medical equipment and stuff. Anyway. I need to go and do.... stuff. Yeah. See ya around"

With that Tony strode off, clearly uncomfortable with the level of conversation. Steve smiled at his retreating back and then stepped forward to hold Bucky, kissing him with a tenderness that made T'Challa blush. Luckily for the king of Wakanda, Darcy chose that moment to stride onto the Helipad, letting out a piercing whistle at the sight of the Captain and his boyfriend "Well, I knew you two would look spectacularly beautiful, but damn I think every woman in the world is sobbing right now" she smiled broadly at the men " Sergeant Barnes, I'm Darcy Lewis. And don't take me teasing Steve seriously. It's just fun making him blush. "

Bucky, looked at Darcy raising an eyebrow, and then took the hand she offered, raising it to his mouth and kissing it "Pleasure to meet you Doll, and it's Bucky to you. Stevie here said you were the prettiest dame he ever laid eyes on, and I oughta punch him for not taking a picture and showing me in advance". His accent was pure Brooklyn and as he spoke, Darcy blushed, spots the faintest hue of pink appearing on her cheeks, her face softening, for a moment displaying the shy young woman she was, hidden behind an armour of sassy quips and red lipstick. She looked over at Steve and grinned " Prettiest dame ever, huh? Guess it's a good job I made those cinnamon buns you like so much for breakfast. Anyway, dinner's in an hour, appearance is mandatory. I hope you like brisket". She nodded politely to T'Challa, who briskly shook her hand, and smiled when she offered to show him to the suite allocated to him.

Finally, alone on the roof, Steve held Bucky, believing for the first time since the Winter Soldiers mask had been ripped off that he was really holding James Buchanan Barnes, the love of his life in his arms, and that somehow this would all work out for the best.  There were no words between the two men- years of loving each other meant there was no need for any- it was enough, to hold each other, in the open, finally feeling safe. Eventually, Bucky shivered as the wind chased around the rooftop, and Steve pulled him by the hand through the door. 

"Welcome to the Tower, Sergeant Barnes. I am FRIDAY, Mr Stark's AI assistant. Please let me know if you require anything during your stay- Mr Stark has instructed that you have full access to all of the tower's amenities. Furthermore, Director Coulson has ordered that I arrange full access for you to your Army salary, and Mr Stark has added you to the Avengers payroll. I have emailed the pertinent paperwork to your email address, which you will find set up on the StarkBook that has been left for you in Captain Rogers quarters. Please let me know if you require anything else"

Bucky looked stunned, but Steve took charge "Thank you FRIDAY- does Sergeant Barnes have any duties associated with The Avengers at present?"

"No Captain. Sergeant Barnes is on the injured roster, but Mr Stark had hoped that in time, the Sergeant would consent to provide tactical advice and training the Tower security forces, and overseeing the security of the Avengers personal floors. However, he asked me to make it clear that Sergeant Barnes is not obligated to take up duties at any point, and considers his addition to the roster, an inadequate payment for the Seargeant's experiences"

Steve smiled. It was typical of Tony to speak with actions of kindness in direct contradiction to his words. At that moment he felt that things would be ok, and, with time and therapy, the Avengers could return to being an effective protection team for the world. "C'mon Buck. Lemme show you our rooms, and then we'll go help Darcy with dinner".

Down on the communal floors, Darcy was busy with the final preparations for dinner. She'd cooked Brisket to her Grandma's secret recipe- Darcy didn't have much of a family. Her Mom had left her at Grams when she was a toddler, and Grams had raised Darcy until she passed away when Darcy was 16. Since then Darcy had been alone, but her most precious possession were her Gram's cookbooks. She'd carefully hauled through every crappy student let she'd had, and now, she kept them in the kitchen of Avengers Tower. Tony had once spent a weekend digitising all of them, so that she'd never lose the recipes, which meant she could avoid spilling cooking on them, by using the digital version as she cooked, but she liked to see them, as she translated her love for the team into meals for them. 

As she moved over to the massive dining table set next to the kitchen on the spacious open plan communal floor, she was interrupted by the sound of the elevator doors hissing open, as the rest of the team spilled out onto the floor. Beaming at them, Darcy stepped towards them, hugging Wanda tightly, giving Sam a kiss on the cheek, and Clint a quick one-armed hug. "Welcome home guys. You've got 30 minutes to dinner so go get washed up". She paused by Natasha "добро пожаловать домой старшая сестра" . The redhead shot her a small smile and gave Darcy's hand a squeeze as she moved past her to help Wanda settle into her rooms, steering the anxious younger woman past a waiting Vision, who's face creased into a frown, as she walked past him without saying a word. He turned to Darcy looking thoughtful " Vis, you fucked up big time when you tried to stop her leaving the facility that day. You're going to need to rebuild that trust, and she may never forgive you. Though, the good news is you have at least one session with Dr Winder, so you might get there". She patted Vision consolingly on the shoulder as she moved past him to finish the dinner. 

Half an hour later, the Avengers in whole, assembled around the dining table for the first time, since the Sokovia Accords had been raised for the first time. Agent Coulson and Sharon Carter had declined to attend the dinner but assured Darcy they would be present the next morning to begin rolling out the logistical side of Operation Stick it To The Man, while the Avengers themselves concentrated on getting themselves physically and psychologically ready to become a cohesive combat unit again. 

Initially, an awkward silence had reigned, and Darcy was about ready to throw her napkin up in disgust and go cry through a pint of Ben and Jerry's when Clint suddenly stood. Darcy tensed expecting a confrontation, but Natasha placed a calming hand on her arm "Tony I owe you an apology and you Vision. I know we all had good reasons for behaving as we did, but our goal has always been to protect the earth. We can't do that if we're fighting. Darcy was right when she said we needed to work on our "issues". I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm an Avenger, and the earth needs us. So let's make sure we don't let them down" He exhaled and sat down clumsily, poking a fork into his dinner. Tony smiled at Darcy, and then yelled at Clint to pass him a roll, so Clint obliged and threw one over at him. And like that the tension broke. Wanda smiled at Vision, squeezing his hand when he asked if she'd have coffee with him the following day, Clint asked Bucky what his favourite rifle was and challenged him to a marksmanship contest on the shooting range, Tony and T'Challa swopped ideas about clean energy, and Darcy sat back smiling. Bruce leaned over and squeezed her hand "this was all you Darcy. Well done". Given that the older man rarely expressed any affection, Darcy knew he meant it sincerely, and for the first time she stormed back into the tower, she relaxed. 

 


	7. Chapter 7:Love, Truths and Declarations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Nat make up, Tony gets the answer to a question, Darcy tells the team about Ross and The Avengers finally get someone qualified to look after Super Soldier Biology on board.
> 
> TW: Child Abuse, Sexual Assault - these are mentioned in a historic context and are not discussed in depth

Bruce hunched further over his desk, massaging his temples in a futile mood to clear his growing headache. He'd been staring at brain scans for an hour, horrified at the extent of the damage that Hydra had inflicted on James Barnes over the 70 years they'd had him in their clutches. If he were anyone else, he'd already be dead, but the version of the serum that Zola had injected him with when he was held prisoner in Azzano had provided a decent measure of protection. Unfortunately, the only way Hydra had managed to stop the healing process was by freezing Barnes routinely- there was scar tissue where healing had begun, and it was clear that at some point someone had tried to remove Barne's hypothalamus. They either hadn't succeeded or it had grown back, but the state it was currently in went a long way towards explaining the unpredictability of The Winter Soldier.  Poor bastard. 

Switching away from the brain scans before he became more than a little Green, Bruce switched to look over Barnes bloodwork instead. It was clear that Hydra had been dosing him with a variety of steroids, amphetamines and sedatives over a prolonged period, and whilst he'd been free of their clutches for some time now, it was clear he had a way to go. Looking at the tox screen results Bruce theorised that The Arm had been the source of the dosages. Sadly, with it now smashed to smithereens in a secret base in Siberia that was all he could do. Luckily the scanner Tony had created in the doorway to his lab, had taken full body shots of everything so they could at least be sure that there weren't any secret dosage pumps in the rest of the Sergeants body. 

 Idly Bruce wondered if dialysis would solve the problem. They'd have to make some adjustments to the process but it might be a decent way to give Barnes an immediate solution to the lingering cocktail of hell remaining in Bucky's blood.  Once he had clear bloodwork, Bruce would be able to start analysing normal blood markers and work out the extent to which the alterations to Bucky's skeleton were impacting him and would need to reversed. He sighed. He wasn't a biologist or an MD regardless of what Tony thought, and really, they could do with someone more qualified here.  He sighed again. The perfect person would be Betty, with her background as a cellular biologist and her familiarity with the super soldier serum projects in general. Maybe Tony could look her up, and ask her to consult. 

The hissing of the lab door made Bruce look up- the rest of the team rarely visited him in the lab, preferring to give the quiet scientist his space. Darcy regularly stopped by- she'd adopted all of the scientists in the tower alongside Jane and made sure that everyone was eating regularly, and not Scienc-ing!  too hard, but aside from her and Tony, he was unused to visitors. The silence following the door opening alerted him to his visitor's identity.

"Nat?" 

The flame-haired agent appeared. Dressed in yoga pants and a faded black Hawkeye shirt that Clint had given her as a joke, she looked unusually vulnerable, a sharp distinction from the poise and self-assuredness she normally demonstrated. Rising to his feet, Bruce wandered to the counter where he kept a kettle and silently made them both a mug of herbal tea- sweetened with honey for her and plain for him. He took both mugs over to the rarely used sofa in the corner and waited. If she was here, without the armour of her Black Widow persona, then it was personal and he'd learnt long ago that with Nat, patience was the easiest way to handle her. 

Padding over to the sofa, she gracefully sat down, crossing her legs underneath her, and began to drink the tea. The silence between them was by no means awkward, but they'd definitely moved away from the companionable silences they'd had before Bruce left the team over the Ultron debacle. 

" I missed you Bruce" she eventually said, unable to make eye contact. " I'm glad you managed to not get wrapped up in the Accords nonsense, but I could have done with someone to talk sense into Tony." She paused, clearly gathering strength for her next questions.

Bruce waited quietly, giving her the space she needed

" Am I so awful you had to run away? I know I'm monstrous and not, not innocent like Betty but, did you need to run away, drop off the grid?" 

Bruce put his cup down, in surprise. He had no idea Nat would see his departure as a result of her gentle declaration of affection and thought perhaps she would be relieved to be rid of The Other Guy. He placed his mug of tea on the coffee table, and turning to face her, he held out his hand, hoping she'd take it. 

"Nat, I never left because of you. You aren't monstrous. I never see you that way, and while your skill sets might be viewed with moral distaste by assholes, you're someone I admire greatly. I just thought it would be easier for you if I took The Other Guy away. I don't exactly have a great track record with relationships, and I can't bear the thought I might put you in danger. I just...." He trailed off looking miserable. 

Nat surprised him, by moving herself, somehow, from where she was towards him, and suddenly Bruce had a lapful of ex-Russian assassin. Pulling her close he rested his head on hers, breathing in her smell. Surprisingly he got the impression The Other Guy approved of this, and the general sense of unease from his green alter-ego that had plagued him since he'd returned to the Tower vanished. 

" I'm not scared of The Other Guy Bruce. Besides, I think he likes me" she smiled up at him, and he couldn't help but smile in return. Stroking her face, he hesitated but decided that he should heed the advice Darcy was always giving to stop denying himself everything and leant forward to softly kiss the woman in his lap. Nat responded enthusiastically, and as his tongue sought entrance to her lips, he found himself shifting until they were stretched out on the sofa full length. Holding her head in his hands, he grinned as she purred in pleasure and leant forwards nipping her neck briefly before returning his lips to hers. He was filled with a sense of peace that he'd not experienced since The Other Guy, and it seemed that his partner agreed similarly. 

Eventually, as the kisses they exchanged grew more passionate, Bruce found himself out of breath with a rising heart rate. Mindful of the potential for a surprise appearance by The Other Guy he broke away from Nat's lips. " Not that I'm not enjoying this, but I need a brief break. If my heart rate goes up any higher The Other Guy might decide to appear, and while I think he approves of this, I'd rather not risk an unscheduled Hulk appearance." 

Nat smiled delicately, laying her head on Bruce's chest. " Bruce, I don't want to overthink this or complicate it, but I should mention that I'm asexual. I can't guarantee a sexual relationship." She looked away anxiously "I'm sorry, I probably should have said sooner". She moved as if to get up, but Bruce's hand on her back stilled her.

" Nat, our relationship doesn't have to be sexual. The way I feel about you isn't based on your body, although you are undeniably beautiful and I do find you attractive in that way. Why don't we just see how things go?  I don't have any expectations of a sexual relationship, and I'm not sure that I could have one, because of The Other Guy. Let's just see how things go, and agree to be honest about our feelings?"

Nat smiled in response and snuggled into his chest "That seems good". The pair lay curled around each other on Bruce's sofa, eventually dozing off into peaceful sleep. 

While Bruce and Nat had been clearing the air, Darcy had wandered down to Tony's lab to check in with him. While he was acknowledging the differences between Bucky Barnes and The Winter Soldier, it was one thing to logically acknowledge a fact, and another to accept it on an emotional level. He'd cheerfully interacted with everyone at dinner, but she caught the lingering sad glances he directed at Rhodey when he thought no one was looking, and she wanted to make sure he was ok. 

Unusually the lab wasn't reverberating with a heavy metal playlist when she pushed through the door. Instead Tony was lying on his sofa, throwing a baseball up in the air. It was unusual for anyone to find the genius actually still, but when he was being introspective and mulling over a problem he tended to settle in one spot and fiddle with something until he resolved the issue. He looked over as Darcy wandered over to the sofa, smiling as she threw herself down onto the beanbag next to the sofa.

"Penny for them?" She enquired, smiling at him. He grinned in return, but with a hint of seriousness, he seemed to be searching her face as if looking for the answer to the question. 

"I was looking at pictures of my Mom tonight" he began " Found some pics before she married my dad and became another society wife" he waved a hand and pointed Darcy towards the projector screen on the opposite wall. A dark-haired girl, around the same age as Darcy stared back at her. Her breath caught in her throat. Maria Stark, prior to her marriage, and looked alarmingly similar to Darcy- wavy hair in the same shade of almost black, the same lips and nose. She looked at Tony in confusion.

"Kid, I know you don't talk about it, your Mom that is, but I'm not sure it's a coincidence that you're the spit of my Mom. I know we joke a lot about you being my PseudoDaughter, but Steve mentioned to me in passing that he wouldn't be surprised if you really were my kid. "

Tony paused, looking uncomfortable to be discussing something that to him bordered on feelings. "Can we do a blood test? If you're my kid, I want to know. I'm not much of a Dad, but if you were mine and I'd known, I wouldn't have abandoned my responsibilities."

Darcy smiled at the older man. She felt a pang- of course as a kid she'd fantasised about a Father appearing one day, rescuing her from the clutches of her Mom, and later someone who'd look after her and Gram and maybe make the old lady go to hospital quicker. But those were the childish dreams of an abandoned child and she'd long since reconciled with the notion that her Father was a long forgotten one-night conquest of her mother. Still, Tony's request was so earnest, she figured it was probably best to do the test so he could know once and for all that she wasn't his, so he could be free from the idea. Making a final decision she nodded " Sure. I'm pretty sure you aren't my Dad- I can't see my Mom being your type, but, sure."

Tony grinned at her " Don't be so sure kid. I was somewhat indiscriminate in my younger, wilder days and I don't exactly have perfect recall of everyone I interacted with. I mean, I went to A LOT of parties back then" He jumped off the sofa and started rummaging through a drawer, eventually pulling out a couple of lancets, and some strips of what looked like blotting paper. "So, Bruce installed this super high-tech doo-dad and now all we have to do is stick a blob of blood on these, chuck them into the machine and then whammo we'll know. Want me to do the blood collection for you?"

Darcy nodded "I'm not the biggest fan of needles, so go for it". Tony hummed for a second, before pulling out a couple of sterile wipes and Band-Aids. He wiped down her index finger, and before she even realised what he was doing, he had a strip of paper with blood on it and was wrapping a Band-Aid onto to her fingertip. He pressed a button on the DNA sequencer, and added her strip, before repeating the whole process on himself and then adding his strip to the machine. "Ok kid, we should know in about 90 seconds"

Darcy would later swear that that 90 seconds was the longest of her life. Eventually the machine beeped twice and a small slip was printed out. Tony grabbed it, and read the results, his face impassive, before handing them to Darcy. She took a deep breath in and then looked at the print out.

"FRIDAY, please email Pepper and ask her to call me ASAP. Tell her I need to make some changes to my will, and draw up trust fund provision and arrange some account access"

Darcy sat down heavily on the nearest workbench. " You're my dad"

"Yup"

"Oh my god. I have a Dad. You're my DAD" she yelled, looking so vulnerable for a moment, that Tony instinctively took a step forwards and pulled her into a hug. "I'm your dad kid. You don't ever have to be alone again Darcy and I mean that. I'm not suddenly going to turn into a stuffy parent, but I swear I'll make sure you're looked after, and if you need me, I'll always do what I can to help- no strings attached"

Darcy stared at him, tears filling her eyes " You promise?" 

"Promise"

She returned Tony's hug, feeling safe and secure for the first time since she buried her Grandmother. If was going to have a Dad, she could do worse than Tony who at least understood her. And he was a known quantity. She breathed out. Things really would be ok. 

A few minutes later she squeezed Tony to end the hug and flopped back onto her beanbag. " Dad," she said, trying out the title to see how it felt, " There's some stuff I think the team should know, about Ross. You know I'm friends with Betty Ross, right?"

"Bruce's ex?"

"Yeah, we met at Culver- she's the one who encouraged me to apply for Jane's internship. We're still in touch and we're pretty close. I feel like I should probably tell the team, why I want to nail this bastard so badly. I spoke to Betty about it and she says I should tell you all if it might help."

Tony studied his daughter's (daughter!!) face. Darcy looked anxious and upset, but he knew that if she thought it was important it probably was. Of all of the team, she was the one with the best ability to read people, better than even Nat. Nat could read people's actions and next moves, Darcy read their intentions and their moral base. He's learned long ago that it was worth paying attention to the young woman, and whilst overlooked and scorned for being a non-scientist and a woman, her insights were rarely wrong and always useful. Grabbing his phone, he fired off a message calling them to assemble in the communal area. 

By the time he'd made it up to the main floor, Darcy was looking more and more anxious. The team had arranged themselves around the comfortable seating area, and looking them over the only people missing were Peter (he made a note to call the teen superhero and bring him in on things- the Accords would affect him, and he would be better protected if he was formally a part of the Avengers, albeit on the junior team) and Scott, who was seeing his daughter and would join everyone in a few days. To break the ice, he decided he may as well drop the bombshell

"People, people just so you know, it turns out the lovely Darcy is actually the spawn of my loins and so those of you who thank her for her brilliance, which should, of course, be all of you, can now thank me, because she's clearly a chip off the old block"

Surprisingly no one reacted, instead everyone carried on with their conversations. Waiting, a moment for a lull Tony tried again " Did you guys not hear me? Am I stood in a weird bubble of silence?"

"Tony it's old news, Darcy texted Vis, and he told the rest of us. Congratulations, we'll throw you a baby shower next week" teased Natasha, arching an eyebrow. " Anyway, why are we all summoned? "

Darcy stepped forward anxiously. "I need to talk to you guys about Ross. It's important, and I need to make clear that I'm not objective when it comes to him. I didn't want to not mention it, in case it's clouding my judgement. I need to make sure that our strategy for overturning the accords and destabilising Ross' power base isn't... unreasonable"

She paused but seeing only support in the faces of her friends she carried on. " I first met Betty Ross at Culver in my first year- she was mentoring first years from less privileged backgrounds and was my student advisor. Kind of like a Big Sister but for academia. We became good friends. Over the years, she was always cagey about her dad, but one night she told me the truth after a few pitchers of Margarita's "

Darcy stopped again and looked directly at Bruce. He nodded at her, and motioned for her to continue- she knew from the look on his face that he was prepared for what she was about to say. 

"Thaddeus Ross is a rapist and a child abuser, and Betty is pretty sure that he's the reason her Mom died. I won't go into the fine details because that's Betty's story, not mine, but he is the lowest of the low. There's.........  she has scars, made by him. The reason he's so set against Bruce? It has nothing to do with wanting to control The Hulk or get the super serum and everything to do with Bruce giving Betty the confidence to finally go to the police over what he did to her. The Accords don't exist because he believes the Avengers need oversight- it's driven by his desire to have power over enhanced beings, to take revenge on Bruce for supporting Betty and, according to my latest intel, he wants to be able to control enhanced beings. " She swallowed hard " Especially if they're female. I heard from some people I know who are on the X-men team, and he's heavily implicated in the disappearance and murder of several teenage mutants."

She trailed off looking distressed. Tony, held his arms open and Darcy crossed the floor to where he sat and accepted his offered cuddle. Sharing the news was obviously traumatic for her, and she looked exhausted. Tony kissed the top of her head- she'd worked hard, burning the candle at both ends in the days leading up to the re-assembling of the team and she clearly needed a rest. He exchanged a glance with Steve, who nodded and stepped forward 

"I think I speak for all of us when I say we would want to take Ross down even without this additional information. But knowing that he truly is an evil scumbag? I think we can all agree that it's time to take the gloves off and go after this guy hard. You've given us a fantastic base to start from Darcy pulling together a solid plan over the last few days. I know that we're going to go over everything formally in the morning, but I want to thank you for all the effort you've put into this. You're as much an Avenger as anyone in this room, and as far as I'm concerned, this is your op to run"

The rest of the team nodded their agreement, and it was clear that regardless of previous differences, Ross' days were numbered. Darcy blushed under the praise from her team, relieved that they'd listened to her so calmly. The work had been worth it, and tomorrow the Avengers would assemble and begin the plan to bring down Ross. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support- I do value everyone's comments, even if they're critical. I've had several comments about Chapter 5 being somewhat contradictory- at the moment I write everything un-beta'd but I will be going back once the story is finished and doing an in-depth edit to hopefully make it all read a bit better!!
> 
> This chapter took ages to write and I do worry it's too big and clunky but, I want to move on to bringing down Ross, and these were my last few foundation blocks!!

**Author's Note:**

> First fic, please be nice? Also, un-beta'd. Updates will be as and when, as I work around work, and studying and being a cripple :). Constructive criticism always welcomed.


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